The ISDS Internship Program, part of the CSUF Internship and Cooperative Education
program, is designed to offer students learning opportunities outside of the classroom
through job experience related to the field of management information systems or
management science. All internship opportunities are under the full academic supervision
of the Department of Information Systems & Decision Sciences.

The internship program is a partnership between the department and the community
on behalf of the student who seeks to gain experience related to their academic
studies and career goals. Students bring academic background, skills, and enthusiasm
to the internship position and, as they learn about the organization’s methods and
strategies, they bring this knowledge back to their classroom experience.

While internships exist primarily for the benefit of the students, many organizations
have found that they receive substantial benefits from the relationship. In particular,
they gain the opportunity to influence and evaluate future professionals in their
field. Students also serve as great public relations agents in terms of attracting
full-time employees to your organization. Perhaps equally importantly, the work
given to the intern can free up your permanent employees to do more advanced work
of a higher priority. Participating in the internship program is a truly wonderful
way for your organization to be involved with CSUF.

An internship is a short-term learning experience. It usually coincides with an
academic semester at CSUF (Fall; September through December or Spring; February
though May) or during the summer period (June through August). At the same time
that a student is working and learning at the site, he/she is enrolled in an academic
course taught by a Faculty Internship Coordinator. An internship has a definite
beginning and ending date.

For CSUF students, the most popular type of internship is "part-time" - 10 to 20
hours per week during the academic year. This schedule allows a student to continue
with course work during the internship. The minimum length of an academically-related
internship is 120 hours (10 hours per week for 12 weeks). Many students are so enthusiastic
that they put in far more than the minimum number of hours required for the internship.

Internship opportunities should provide students with professionally-oriented activities
that will enable them to experience work similar to that of a new entrant in the
field. The position should allow the student to use knowledge gained in the classroom
and provide hands-on experience. To assure that the student gets the most out of
the internship experience, students must have attained at least junior level status
and completed a minimum of two management information systems classes or two management
science classes. Clerical or non-professional tasks must be limited to 20% or less
of the overall responsibilities and the student must receive monetary compensation
for the work they perform. The sponsoring organization is responsible for providing
both Worker Compensation and third party liability coverage for student interns.
Student interns are considered employees or your organization and cannot be hired
as "independent contractors."

Internship positions must relate to a student’s academic major/goal. The position
description should describe in some detail the duties the intern will be expected
to perform. If there are minimum qualifications you would like to include, they
should be made part of the position description. A contact person at your organization
should also be given.

The internship coordinator for the Department of Information Systems & Decision
Sciences is Dr. Rahul Bhaskar; Dr. Bhaskar approves the internship position
and defines the student requirements for academic credit. He is available during
the semester to guide and assist students in defining and fulfilling their internship
goals. Upon completion of the internship he evaluates student performance and assigns
academic credit. This is typically based upon one or more reports written by the
student relating his/her internship experience.

Produced by the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics at California State University, Fullerton. Contact the
web administrator for comments or problems with the website. All rights reserved. Copyright 2009.